Databases, particularly those accessible via the Internet, provide a vast repository of information. Often, these databases are difficult and time-consuming to search, particularly for the layperson seeking knowledge about a technical field, by using specific search terms and methods, such as an area of medicine.
There is a growing body of literature that further supports the enhanced quality of information produced by tailored searches. Recent consumer-based studies have linked health care decision-making patterns with tailored information delivered via the World Wide Web. Tailored information is more effective in providing consumer information and is preferred by patients. Academic libraries include a greater degree of tailored information in their databases. A need remains, however, for innovative techniques for extracting tailored information from databases, such as a system that provides for user-friendly search terms and methodologies capable of retrieving technically and clinically correct information.